“Republicans, at the direction of Leader McCarthy, are conducting our own investigation,” Indiana Rep. Jim Banks said on Wednesday.
“I can’t go into many of the specifics of what we’ve done or what we are doing,” Banks said. “But I will tell you that we will be releasing our findings publicly in the future.”
The resolution to create the select committee allowed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to “recommend” five members to sit on the committee but allowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the final say on the selections. In a never-before-seen move, Pelosi blocked Banks (who was set to be ranking member) and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio from sitting on the committee. That provoked McCarthy to remove his other three selections in protest unless all five were seated.
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The two Republicans who do sit on the committee, Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, were appointed by Pelosi rather than McCarthy.
After pulling his picks, McCarthy said: “We will run our own investigation … Why was the Capitol so ill-prepared for that day when they knew on Dec. 14 they had a problem? And what have we done to make sure that never happens again?”
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This endeavor, led by Banks, meets that commitment. He said that the Jan. 6 committee is based on a "conspiracy theory" that "Jan. 6 was an inside job ... secretly orchestrated by President Trump and his closest advisers."
Cheney has already revealed some of what Banks had been working on in a counter-effort.
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During debate on whether to hold former President Donald Trump’s Adviser Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for refusing to follow a congressional subpoena, she revealed that Banks sent letters to executive branch agencies identifying himself as the original ranking member of the committee and asking that they provide him with the same information that it gave the committee.
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Banks claims that an effort established by the minority party should have access to those records. Because McCarthy refused to seat any Republicans on the board, the minority does not have access to materials that the committee receives from government agencies or the ability to object to majority questioning in deposition interviews.
That effort has not been especially prosperous. A response from the FBI said: "We respectfully refer you to the Select Committee regarding issues of access to records and information."
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